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iPhone Contract Demystified: Beware Roamers

by Tim Stevens on July 23, 2007 at 11:01 AM

iPhone Contract Detailed: Jet-Setters Beware

Are you the proud owner of a shiny new Apple iPhone? If so, did you read the 17,000 word legal contract presented to you before you took your gadget home? Probably not, so you should take a few moments to read the Cliff's Notes version provided by 'Wired.' The magazine got some experts from the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the nonprofit group working to protect digital rights, and pored over the thing, described as "longest and most complex ever to accompany a wireless gadget."

The big thing you'll want to know is that you could be stuck with some serious fees should you use your phone outside of the U.S. The contract states: "Substantial charges may be incurred if phone is taken out of the (United States) even if no services are intentionally used." So, better call your local AT&T rep and get the details before heading on that trip to to foreign lands, even if it's just a jaunt up to Montreal for the weekend.

Other troubling inclusions in the small print include lines that prevent you from installing your own software, banning you from unlocking the phone for use on other carriers, and even disallowing you from opening a class-action lawsuit against Apple should you find some major flaw in the thing -- though that last provision stands on some shaky legal grounds.

Finally there's the kicker: Apple is free to collect information from users' phones to ensure they haven't violated that contract. There's no mention of just what the company is collecting (text messages? voice mails? digital pictures?) or just what the punishment would be should you be found to transgress the company's rules. By the looks of it, we're thinking you probably don't want to find out.

From 'Wired'

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Tags: iPhone

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